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Greetings to all. I have a 1986 e30 that I bought about a year ago. The car is awesome but up until last week gave me starting issues. Since I bought it, it would start some times and then not start other times. Everyone told me it was the starter, even though the guy I bought it from said he put in a new starter 8 months prior to selling it to me. So I replaced the starter. Problem not solved. I then ran a bypass switch to the starter to be able to start it when the car decided not to start with the turn of the key. Then people told me it needed a new ignition switch. I was told it would cost around $ 500.00 to replace. I decided to drive it and use the bypass to jump start it for a while. It then occurred to me that the car might have an ignition switch relay. The problem was that I could not find it. I finally located it up under the dashboard on the drivers side. The relay switch cost me $25.00 at BMW and poof problem solved. Moral of the story. If you buy an E30 and have issues with the car starting, replace that relay first. It could save you some cash..... I hope this info helps. Cheers Yall........

When my Service Board batteries went out on my E30 and my tach took a poop, obviously I had to change the batteries. Heres a little something though- instead of putting the batteries back into the dash, I took the board to BAtteries PLus (who also had the direct replacement batteries...dont buy the ones off ebay for 30 when you can get em for 10!) and the I had the tech solder me up some wires to AA battery holders. Went over to ACE then, got some springs to fill the length gap. It works awesome, just make sure you tie the batteries down good or they'll go flying if you corner hard. You will have to do a little filing in the little space where the SI board is, and drill 2 little holes to get the wires through, but luckily theres space to do that comfortably. Wrapped the batteries up in electrical tape, wire tied the extra wire, and tucked it away neatly under my dash. Just thought I'd share...I did this all for 30 bucks maybe, and it still beats the one on ebay with the AA holders attatched to the board. Just thought I'd share...

Wanted to share my experience since I couldn't find a DIY. My lights were flickering and I lost power a few times on the highway (with all my cluster warning lights lit light a x-mas tree). Alternator voltage tested low (12v). Unfortunately, my alternator is a Valeo and the voltage regulator is semi-internal (part #10 in the diagram below) which is harder to replace than the Bosch voltage regulator. Having said that, the VR can be replaced in 30 minutes without removing the alternator.

Here are the steps I followed:

1) Disconnect battery
2) Remove airbox and AFM in one piece (2 nuts)
3) Disconnect two wires on back of alternator (2 nuts)
4) Remove plastic wire housing on back of alternator (2 more nuts)
5) Remove noise filter on the back cover of the alternator (1 nut)
6) Remove alternator back cover (4 bolts). This is tricky but can be done in place. You may need to unplug the harness that sits next to the alternator. Pivot the cover to get it past the tight area between the alternator and the engine.
7) Unbolt the old voltage regulator (2 bolts) and pull straight out.
8) Assembly is pretty much the reverse.
9) Reconnect battery, reset clock, enter radio code :alright

BTW, this is the VR I replaced. Pelican had it for $44.25, about the same as a Bosch replacement. As far as I can tell, the alternator and VR were original (165k miles). Not bad, so I just went for the OEM replacement.

if i remember correctly, i paid about $70 for a reman'd alternator. but hey, its nice to see people actually fixing alternators

Reman'd alternator is a minimum of $90 where I am and you hear horror stories about unreliable reman units. The remanufacturers use no-name chinese parts. I would rather go to a reputable shop down the road and have them remanufacture my own unit with brand name parts $100-150. Instead I installed a $44 OEM part and I'm back in business. But if you can show me where I can get a reman alternator fixed with brand name parts for $70, I'm in. YMMV.

Reman'd alternator is a minimum of $90 where I am and you hear horror stories about unreliable reman units. The remanufacturers use no-name chinese parts. I would rather go to a reputable shop down the road and have them remanufacture my own unit with brand name parts $100-150. Instead I installed a $44 OEM part and I'm back in business. But if you can show me where I can get a reman alternator fixed with brand name parts for $70, I'm in. YMMV.

We have a place here called Electrical Motor Systems that sells reman alternators or new alternators and back both their products with a 3 year warranty, so hey, whats to lose? If anyone else had a store like that around their town/city, they should probably check that out.

don't know if this is the right place to post this but it says information relating to modification
here is an interesting site found http://www.awron.de/
It is a touch screen lcd unit for engine temps etc similar to the alpina vent gauge, i have never seen it before, sure someone's interested in it

I realize this may already be covered, but... is there an idiot's guide to decoding
all of the model numbers (like what is the difference between a 318i and a 318is,
or a 325e, 325es, 325i, 325ic, 325c... I don't know if those even exist, I just
tried to WAG the numbers from the general pattern, assuming there's a pattern,
which I haven't decoded yet)?

I just bought a 1991 318i 5 speed 4 door, and have a lot to learn.

BTW, there is an old post in this thread thread with a link to a how to article on aftermarket
stereo installs... the link didn't work - is there a mirror of it anywhere else, or does someone
have it saved to hard drive to upload it?

I will read and search more carefully eventually, but I'm feeling really crummy
this afternoon and having a hard time concentrating (I don't even have enough
energy to be excited about buying a new car). At least I felt better this morning
when I went to look at cars (which is a long story).

I am a new member and owner of 85 325e. Picked it up form a 2nd owner. I have been working on the car for about four months. Just finished the emergency and rear brakes, now onward to the front brakes. Just notice today it needed to be jump started after sitting for about two weeks. It would not idle on it's own? Any ideas where to start?
Michael